ESNC winner GUAPO a step ahead of civilian drone market

This year’s European Satellite Navigation Competition centered on the topic of civilian drone use. On October 25 in Madrid, the 2016 edition culminated in an awards ceremony featuring prominent industry representatives and the winners of 32 categories, which included 11 drone applications.

GUAPO — A security system for early drone detection, classification and tracking

Drones have been one of the biggest trends of 2016. At the same time, concerns regarding the safety of these devices are growing due to the rise in media reports of drones crashing or encroaching on security-critical spaces.

In response, the overall winners of ESNC 2016 — Carmine Clemente and his team from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland) — are developing a satellite-based system capable of early drone detection and tracking.

GUAPO factors in the electromagnetic characteristics of drones to offer continuous coverage with low resource requirements. It provides a cost-effective, sensor-based solution for monitoring areas where security is paramount, such as in the protection zones around airports.

The GUAPO team from the UK took top honors in the 2016 ESNC.

In addition, GUAPO is suited to security-related activities in connection with large events or drone deliveries in e-commerce.

Along with the competition’s EUR 10,000 grand prize, the innovative project is now set to receive an extensive package including cash, marketing support, consulting services and technical assistance as the winner of the United Kingdom’s regional ESNC prize. These benefits are designed to accelerate the idea’s further development and market entry.

Civilian drones a growth market for GNSS

According to the latest drone report compiled by Business Insider, drone sales are expected to surpass EUR 11 billion by the year 2021 — a significant increase on the EUR 7 million the segment accounts for at present. Playing a prominent role in this growth will be commercial drones, the sales of which are projected to quadruple over the next five years thanks to ongoing technological advancements and heightening price competition.

To operate safely, drones rely on satellite navigation signals such as GPS and Galileo for precise positioning and orientation. They thus represent a promising growth market for GNSS.

The ESNC’s first attempt to address this up-and-coming market — a joint effort with Xunta de Galicia — was a success: A full third of the 2016 winners were recognized for innovative drone applications.

“The large number of promising drone applications the ESNC received this year will aid our partner regions in positioning themselves in this future segment,” added Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen and initiator of the ESNC. “Thanks to our new special prize for UAVs, the competition has also further solidified its reputation as an engine of innovation in new market sectors.”

Europe’s innovation network for satellite navigation

Having received more than 400 auspicious business ideas and highly advanced technical concepts, ESNC 2016 now offers solutions to the social and economic challenges our world currently faces.

Since 2004, more than 300 prize-winners, nearly 3,800 entries and 10,000 participants from around the world have transformed the competition into the leading innovation network in satellite navigation.

As a result, the ESNC is now playing a key role in the uptake of Europe’s EGNOS and Galileo programmes.

“Downstream entrepreneurs and start-ups play an important role. They are the ones bringing EGNOS and Galileo down to Earth through the applications they develop. This is where the European Satellite Navigation Competition plays a crucial role,” said Matthias Petschke, director for the European Satellite Navigation Programmes of the European Commission. “The ESNC has accumulated a track record of success in fostering innovation and application development in satellite navigation since its launch in 2004.”